Boiler-feeder.



No. 663,735. Patented Dec. u, I900. H. J. DAVIS, P. a; AULT, w. w.BAILEY & J. H. WIDEMAN.

BOILER FEEDER.

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Patented Dec. ll, I900. J. H. WIDEMAN.

'H. J. DAVIS, P. G. AULT, W. W. BAILEY &.

BOILER FEEDER.

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No. 663,735. Patented Dec. ll, I900.

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Patented Dec. ll, I900. H. J. DAVIS, P. e. AULT, w'. w. BAILEY.& .1. u.WIDEMAN.

BOILER FEEDER. (Applicatioxi filed on. 1,1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

(No Ilodel.)

IN VENTORS.

WIT/M5555 NTTno STATES PATENT FFlCE.

HENRY J. DAVIS, PLAYFAIR G. AULT, WILBER W. BAILEY, AND JAMES H.WIDEMAN, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

BOILER-FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 663,735, dated December1 1, 1900. Application filed October 1, 1900. Serial No. 3 ,6 9- CNOmodeL) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it. known that W6,HENRY J.DAvIs, PLAY- FAIR G.AULT, WILBERW.BAILEY,and JAMES H. WIDEMAN, citizens of the United States,

residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama,have made certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler- Feeders, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to continuously and automaticallymaintain a uniform water-level in a boiler.

The invention relates particularly to an improvement upon theboiler-feeder for which I 5 we obtained Letters Patent of the UnitedStates No. 655,064, dated July 31, 1900. In our present invention themechanism has been greatly simplified and a considerable economyeffected, besides providing for an instant operation of the valve whichregulates the action of the main valve governing the admission of steamto the Water-tank.

The details of construction, arrangement, and operation of parts are ashereinafter described, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 represents our invention in connection with a boilerand water-supply tank. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view, a portion be- 0ing broken away, of our present invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section showing the arrangement of portsbetween the cylinders or chambers of the main valve and the smallerregulating-valve. Fig. 4 is a plan View of a portion of the foraminousbaffleplate arranged in the Water-tank. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of thedeviceshown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a portion ofthe water supply pipe containing the check-valve. Fig. 7 is a plan view,part being in section, of the water-tank and its attachments. Fig. 8 isa longitudinal section of the two valve-chambers on the line 8 8 of Fig.9. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the valve- 5 chambers. Fig. 10 is a verticalsection on the line 1010 of Fig. 9, the same being taken at right anglesto the section shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 11 is a'horizontal section on theline 11 ll of Fig. 8. Fig. 12 is a side view of the mechanism forinstantaneously shifting the position of the SID-1116B governing-valve.Fig.

13 is a plan view of the same, part being in section. Figs. 14 and 15show certain details or parts of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 12and 13. Figs. 16 and 17 are edge and side views of the shifting hammeror weight employed for actuating the small governing-valve.

As shown in Fig. 1, our water-tank A is connected with a steam-boiler Bby means of pipes Q and b. The said tank is also connected by pipes cand cl with the condensingtarlgg, from which the water-supply isreceived. The said tank G is provided with a pipe 6, having an automaticvalve attachment f, which includes a float and whose operation isapparent. The water from tank 0 is supplied to the tank A through thepipe 0, which is provided with a coupling 0, containing a check-valve cThis valve seats upward and is closed whenever the steam-pressure in thetank A reaches a certain degree. The exhaust-steam from the water-tank Ais conducted by the pipe d into the supply-tank C, where it iscondensed, and thus aids h'eating the water that is subsequentlyconveyed to the tank A by means of the pipe c. The tank A, as shown inFig. 1, is provided with a steam-jacket, which will in practice beconnected with the boiler B by means of pipes which permit thecirculation of steam or hot water, and thus always keep the tank properat a high temperature. One of these pipes will necessarily be soarranged as to drain the water of condensation back to the boiler bygravity.

in Fig. 2 the tank A is shown unprovided with a steam-jacket. Withinsaid tank is a water-displacing weight D, which is made of any suitablematerial adapted to float in wa- 9o ter. It is connected, by means of ajointed rod E, with one arm Fof a rock-shaft G, (see Fig. 7,) which isarranged in suitable bearings and provided with alever-arm H, carrying aweight I, that is adjustable thereon and 5 so arranged with respect tothe weight D that the latter will raise the former when it is out of thewater, but will be itself raised when partly submerged. This weight F ispractically a governor for regulating the level of the water in theboiler--that is to say, by adjusting it on the lever-arm -1 toward the Irock-shaft G the apparatus will feed. the Wa- L on its seat.

ter to a higher level and by moving it outward on said arm the feed orsupply will be less. The weight I may be held in any adjustment by meansof a clamp-screw or other suitable device. A tappet-lever J (see Figs.7, 12, and 13) is loose on the rock-shaft G, and thus adapted tooscillate-with the latter as the weight D rises or falls in the tank A.One end of said tappet-lever J is loosely connected with the valve-stemK, which actuates the smaller regulating-valve L, (see Fig. 8,) so thatas said lever J oscillates it will seat and unseat the valve L in itscylinder or chamber M, and thereby govern the admission of steam to themain cylinder N, which contains the main valve 0. At the right-handendof the leverJa knobj is provided, as shown in Figs. 12 and13. The hammeror weight P, having an arm 19, is mounted on the shaft G and adapted tobe thrown from right to left, as shown by full and dotted linesin Fig.12, for the purpose of operating the valve Lthatis to say, when.

latter so that its opposite end raises the valve-stem K, and therebycloses the valve A disk J isfixed on the shaft G (see Figs. 13 and 14)and provided at opposite points with lateral projections j, (see Figs.13 and 15,) which: consist of screws having enlarged heads. One of thesescrews j? is adapted for adjustment in an arc slotj (See Fig. 14.) Whenthe shaft G is rocked by the rise and fall of: the weight D in tank A,the disk. J is necessarily rocked with it, and the pins or projectionsjthen serve to alternately raise the hammer P by contact with its shank1o, soas to throw it over from one side to the other, as illustrated inFig. 12, by which action the tappet-lever J, which is loosely mountedon. the shaft G, is shifted, as before described.

We will. now describe in detailthe construction, arrangement, andoperation of the valve mechanism proper.

As before stated, we employ a main-valve cylinder N and a smaller-valvecylinder M, which are arranged vertically side by sideandconstructedorcastintegrally. Themain valve 0 has/two heads and twovalve-seats.

'In other words, it seats down on the upper the cylinder N, is connectedbya port 71 with a chamber m of cylinder M, in which a controlling-valveL is located. The stem K of said valve L is provided with a longitudinalgroove 70, (see Fig. 8,) through which steam has access to the chamber min cylinder M. Fromsuch chamber m a port or passage n leads into thechamber 02 below the piston 12 as also shown in Fig. 8. The arrangementand relation of these ports n and n are further illustrated in Fig. 3.Awasher m is arranged in the upper portion of the smallercylinderN forholding the packing of valve-stem K in place. A pipe R connects thewater-tank A with the cylinder N of the main valve 0, the attachmentbeing made at the side of said cylinder through the medium of a sidepassage n (SeeFig. 10.). It isapparent that steam has free passage fromn to a when the main valve 0 is raised,,as shown in Figs. 8 and 10, andthat if the valve O. be lowered or seated downward such communicationwill be cut off and steam maypass from pipe B through side passage npast thevalve O, andexhaust at a (See Fig. 10.) The lateral passage nand. exhaust opening n are shown by dotted oirclesin Fig. 8. Thefeeder-tank A is placed adjacent to the boiler B at suchv height thatthe water-level in the tank will be the same asin the boilerwhentheweight D has fallen to. its lowest position,.as shown. by dottedlines in Fig; 2'. Supposing the tank-A to be empty and the weight D atthe downward limit of its movement, water is admitted bypipe o andraises the weight D to the position shown by-full lines, Fig. 2. In thisoperation the rock-shaft isrotated. far enough to cause the disk J tothrow the hammer P from right to left, sothat it strikes upon the-headof the valve-stem, and thereby forcesthe valve L downward and offitsseat, whereby steam. is admitted by the groove it in said. stem Kfrom port nF'into chamber 'm in cylinder M, whence it passes by theshort passage a into the chambern beneath the pistonn h The pressure ofsteam on thelatter raises the main valve 0 to the position shown in-Figs. Sand-.10, which the same, so that the weight D may not sud- Idenly beforced, down. Thepractical value of thus maintaining a uniformwater-level is well known to every engineer. The machine is adapted totake condensation from coils of varying pressures, since it exhausts atevery stroke and the condensation discharges during the time of exhaust.It differs in this respect fromsteam-traps, since the latter will notreceive condensation from coils with varying pressures. The tank A willexhaust down to the pressure of the coil containing the highestpressure, and the check-valve provided for such coil will open anddischarge its contents. The exhaust being still open, the pressure inthe tank will continue to reduce until all the coils have discharged,and if the tank has not filled from these coils the deficiency will bemade up from the regular water-supply, the area of the exhaustbeingequal to or greater than the combined condensation of all thecondensation-pipes.

It will be noticed as a special feature of this apparatus that thevalve-stem of the controlling valve is operated instantaneously by meansof the hammer dropping each Way alternately, the blow in one directionfalling upon the valve-stem and opening the valve and in the otherdirection falling upon the tappet-lever J, and thus closing the valve.This instantaneous opening and closing of the valve isparticularlyadvantageous, since a gradual opening and closing of thesame would cause it to balance in consequence of a lack of sufficientsteam under the piston of the controlling-valve to hold the large valveto its seat. When the piston is Working Without any exhaust, as thesteam is cut off it condenses very quickly, so the piston has only aone-half-inch stroke, and a cushion is provided for the same on itsdownward stroke.

As a brief resume of the operation it may be stated that Water isautomatically admitted to the machine by gravity at a time when theconnections to the boiler are closed automatically. When the tankbecomes filled, the water is automatically cut off and the boilerconnections at the same instant open, both top and bottom. Since thewater in the tank A when full stands at a considerably higher level thanthat in the boiler and the pressure being equalized, it naturally fallsinto the boiler until the water-level is the same as in the tank. Theboiler connections being then again automatically closed, the waterconnection is opened and the operation is repeated. WVhen the tank hasdischarged its water into the boiler, it is full of steam at boilerpressure. This pressure is relieved automatically at the same instantthe boiler connections are closed and the exhaust-steam is conveyed tothe condensing-tank Cjwhereby the water therein is heated before discharging into the tank A.

Having thus fully described our invention, What we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, the combination,with asteam-boiler, Water-tank, and pipes duly connecting the same, of awater-displacing weight or float in said tank, a main valve controllingthe admission of steam from boiler to tank, and provided with apiston-head, and another valve, and ports connecting it with the mainvalve, and ta ppet mechanism operated by the Weight as it rises andfalls, and adapted to actuate the last-named or controlling valve,substantially as shown and described.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, with thesteamboiler, the water-tank and pipes duly connecting the same, of adisplacing weight or float arranged in said tank, a rock-shaft arrangedat the upper portion of the tank and provided with a weighted arm forbalancing the displacing-weight, and a shiftable hammer or weightoperated by said rock-shaft, a main valve controlling the admission ofsteam to the tank, and a controlling-valve duly connected by ports orpassages with said main valve, such controllingwalves being suitablyarranged to admit of its actuation, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with theWaterboiler and the tank having pipe connections substantially asspecified, of a displacing weight or float arranged in the tank, a rockshaft arranged on the upper portion of the latter and having acounterbalancing-weight as described, a main valve controlling theadmission of steam to the tank, a smaller valve having ports connectingit with the mainvalve cylinder and serving to control the position ofthe main valve, a hammer or weight mounted on the shaft and adapted tobe shifted when the latter is rocked, and a tappetlever connected withthe stem of the controlling-valve and upon the opposite end of thetappet-lever, whereby as said hammeris shifted from one side to theother, it alternately depresses and raises the valve corresponding withthe rise and fall of the water in the tank, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4:. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withthe steamboiler, the water-tank, a main-valve cylinder, acontrolling-valve cylinder and valves arranged therein, pipes connectingthe boiler and tank with the main-valve cylinder, of the displacingweight or float arranged in the water-tank and having a counterbalanceas specified, a rock-shaft arranged transversely at the top of saidtank, a disk which is fast on said rock-shaft and provided with lateralprojections, a hammer or weighted arm. journaled loosely on said shaftand adapted to engage the projections of said disk alternately, and atappet-lever mounted loosely on said shaft and connected with the stemof the controlling-valve substantially as shown and described, wherebyas the displacing-weight rises and falls, the said shaft .and disk arerocked, and the hammer thereby shifted from right to left and left torigh t, alternately, thus striking the stem of the controlling-valve todepress it and the opposite end of the tappetlever for raising saidvalve, alternately, substantially as shown and described.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, with theboiler, the tank, a displacing-weight in the latter, and

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mechanism connected therewith for operating the controllingvalve, of amain valve arranged in a cylinder duly connected with the boiler andtank, the controlling valve arranged in an adjacent chamber or cylinder,and long and short ports or passages connecting the end chambers of themain-valve cylinder with the chambers in the smaller-valve chamber,which chambers are separated by a valve chamber with the boiler and tankre spectively, the main valve adapted to seat upward and downward andprovided with a pis-' ton, steam-passages connecting the ends or endchambers of the main cylinder with the other cylinder, thecontrolling-valve arranged to pass above and below the exit of one ofsaid passages, a port leading from the chamber of such controlling-valveto the chamber above, which port is closed when the valve is seatedupward, substantially as shown and de-' scribed.

HENRY J. DAVIS.

PLAYFAIR G. AULT.- WILBER W. BAILEY. JAMES H. WIDEMAN.

Witnesses:

OHAs. B. LYTLE, LYMAN- W. MARTYN, Jr.

